Public Wi-Fi Networks – Yea or Nay?

With remote work becoming increasingly more available, employees may be scattered physically. With reopened coffee shops and cafés, and business trips back on, your employees may find themselves working from various locations. With the right integrated technology solutions, it makes a difference in productivity and efficiency when your employees can work from anywhere.  

But there are risks your employees need to know about when considering using a public Wi-Fi network.

What Are the Risks of Using Public Wi-Fi? 

Generally, whenever possible employees should avoid connecting business devices to public Wi-Fi networks. Here’s why: 

• Public Wi-Fi networks often do not have passwords and can be easily hacked 
• Hackers can set up lookalike public Wi-Fi 
• The lookalike Wi-Fi can read all the information your computer sends through it, including keystrokes and banking information 
• In public places, it is physically easier for someone to watch and record activity to steal  

Once the hackers have information on key employees and have identified a vulnerability, they begin the hack such as sending an email that installs malware or using a password cracking tool to lock you out. 

Watch webinar: The Business Leader’s Role in Cybersecurity for the Modern Workplace 

What Can I Do to Avoid the Risks of Public Wi-Fi?

• Encourage your employees to save any documents to their desktop to work offline when out of the office or home office 
• Remind them to save online banking and other sensitive online activities for when they’re on a secure, trusted network 
• Consider connecting to a password-protected Mi-Fi device or personal hotspot instead. These are not foolproof devices and may be vulnerable to attack as well, but they are more secure options than public networks. 
• Finally, in addition to avoiding public Wi-Fi networks, employees should also avoid public computers. These are easily compromised by hackers.  

Return to Safety 

It is important that you, as a business leader, and your employees know these and other cybersecurity basic tips to avoid a potential attack. When traveling or on the go, be sure your employees are thinking twice about using a public Wi-Fi network and staying alert to how easily potential attacks can happen. When asked if public Wi-Fi and computers are okay to use, we at Thriveon shout a big “Nay!”

To learn more cybersecurity tips and get started on a custom IT strategy plan for your business, schedule a meeting today!